Here’s What Happened to Murder Rates When Texas’ Capital Defunded Police
1st October 2021
Drivers heading south on U.S. Route 183 in Austin, Texas, have become familiar with a billboard urging city police officers to relocate to Spokane, Washington to become deputy sheriffs and collect a $15,000 bonus.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has targeted Texas’ capital city, already in a personnel crunch as the homicide rate reached a record high, along with other jurisdictions that recently slashed police budgets.
Amid the “defund the police” movement in 2020, the Austin City Council cut the police budget by about one-third and eventually lost 150 officers. In August, shortly before the city reached its all-time record for annual homicides, the council restored the funding.
“Austin is not Texas, although you can see Texas from Austin.” — Kevin Williamson